§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to widen access to good quality physical education and sporting opportunities for young people. [145584]
§ Mr. Chris SmithIt should not be a matter of chance whether a child will get good sporting opportunities. There are basic opportunities that should be available to all children. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has been working closely with me to develop a range of measures that will bring real improvement. Over the next few years, our aim is to offer children an entitlement to two hours each week spent during and after school on high quality PE and sporting activity. We will consult schools, professional associations and other interested parties to identify how best to make this happen.
To build the capacity to make this entitlement possible, we are also extending the outside help available to schools. We will shortly begin two pilot studies to extend the New Deal into sport and create a new role of sports assistant to work alongside the new sports co-ordinators to help deliver this opportunity in schools. By 2004 there could be as many as 2,000 opportunities—many of which will be offered to suitable people on the New Deal.